


The Cat Lady Revenge

by oathkeeper65



Category: Downfall (Video Games), The Cat Lady (Video Game)
Genre: Canon Continuation, F/M, Sequel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-21
Updated: 2018-10-17
Packaged: 2019-04-05 10:53:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 11,564
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14042688
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oathkeeper65/pseuds/oathkeeper65
Summary: All Susan wanted was a life of peace. A life with Mitzi. But it was all snatched away by Joe Davis. Now, on a final mission from the Queen of Maggots, Susan Ashworth must track down her neighbor, and kill him. It is the only way to save her best friend, but can she do it? From the author who brought you Return of the Emissary comes a new tale.All characters are owned by Harvester.





	1. Prologue

Susan Ashworth had felt like this before. She had been brutally stabbed by a mad physiatrist, shot point-blank with a gun given to her by a crazed pest control man, inhaled poisonous gas from an insane man who lead a suicide cult on forums, and that was all within a few weeks. Coming back from the dead was something Susan had become accustomed too, but it didn’t change the fact that she hated it every time. This time was different though. She smelt smoke. She felt hot… and she heard something. No, someone.      

“Miss. A,” The voice cried from the darkness as Susan crawled back to the light. How was this possible? She had dealt with all the parasites… hadn’t she? “Miss. A…” The voice called again, louder this time. Susan recognized it faintly…

“Miss Ashworth! Susan!” Mitzi’s voice rang out in Susan’s ears as she shot up. She coughed as she got her bearings. She was in the basement? Mitzi was by her side. The place was burning.

“Mitzi? What, what happened?” Susan asked her friend as she pulled her arm. Susan got to her feet and realized what happened. “Where’s Joe?”

“No time Miss. A, we have to go now!” Mitzi yelled as the two friends began to run. The building was on fire!

“Damn it Joe, what did you do?!” Susan yelled as they climbed the stairs. They ascended to the main floor and were about to leave when Mitzi stopped. “Mitzi, you said we have to go. Come on!” But Mitzi didn’t move. She pointed into the inferno.

“Miss. A… who’s that?” Mitzi asked. Susan squinted through the smoke to try and see what it was. It was a figure. Her long hair was pulled into a tight bun. Her arms were thin, and she was covered neck down in a long dress, a cloak of thin material flailing in the blaze. Her skin was unnaturally tight given her age. In her hands, a bouqet of wilted flowers.

“No… Not you. Not again!” Susan yelled as she grabbed Mitzi’s hand and began to run. But before they got to the exit, Susan heard the splintering of wood. She looked up to see the ceiling above her give way.

* * *

The wheat fields flowed in the breeze, calm as always. Not even the screams of Susan Ashworth stirred them much. Susan knew where she was.

“WHERE ARE YOU BITCH?!” She screamed as she charged through the never-ending fields. “SHOW YOURSELF!” She was hurting like she had never hurt before. She reached the gate outside Her house. It wasn’t locked. Susan threw open the gates and ran toward the dilapidated house. There she was. On the porch with her fucking chair and her fucking flowers.

“Ah… my dear Susan,” The Queen of Maggots said as Susan leapt up her porch in two steps.

“YOU FUCKING BITCH!” Susan yelled as she grabbed the Queen, something no mortal had ever done, and slammed her against the door to her hut. “YOU SAID I WAS DONE! WHY THE FUCK AM I HERE? WHERE THE FUCK IS MITZI?!?!”

“You will release me Susan if you ever want to leave this plane again.” The Queen retorted coolly. Susan would never be of any use to her if she didn’t calm down. Ever reluctantly, Susan Ashworth dropped the Queen and backed up one pace.

“You said I was done after the Parasites were dead. I killed them all. Dr. X, the Pest Control couple, that hangman guy, Adam.”

“Yes, but they were not all dead. There remained one more Parasite. One I could not see. The one who brought you back to me.” Susan’s green eyes shone with rage.

“Joe.” The Queen did not smile.

“Yes Susan. Joe Davis. Come my child. We have much to discuss.” The Queen lead Susan into her hut. The multiple candles burning as they always did. The Queen lead Susan to the back room, where she had first gifted Susan with her gift. It looked much the same now, the candles lined the room, but now there was a long black object in the middle of the room, a black material covering whatever was under it.

“Joe Davis slipped under my watch for a long time Susan. He was so adept at hiding, he avoided even my watch. But even the stealthiest of bugs, cannot hide from their Queen forever.” The walls began to change. Images of Joe Davis exploring a hotel of some sorts. Images of him killing women in masks. “I wanted to give you a new life Susan, truthfully I did. Now, you have one more parasite to kill.”

“No.” Susan said with no thought. This shocked the Queen, she had not expected Susan to turn down the offer to hunt Davis down so quickly.

 “No? What do you mean no?”

“I said no. No more. I tried to kill him back in the real world, and look where it got me?” She stared holes into the Queen. “Back here with you, you fucking bitch.

“I thought you might need some persuasion Susan.” The Queen pointed to the cloth. “Remove it.” Susan seemed shocked by this.

“What game are you playing bitch?” Susan asked the Queen. She shook her head.

“No game Susan. Just remove the cover. And you’ll help me.” Susan reached for the cover and grabbed it, but stopped.

“And if I don’t?” She asked looking down at the covering.

“I highly doubt you will still be unwilling to help me once you see it.” The Queen said matter-of-factly. “But if you don’t, I will send you back anyway. A final gift from me.” Seemingly satisfied, Susan inhaled and yanked off the cover.

* * *

The beeps of Cedar Lake Hospital hit Susan’s ears before anything else. The sights came next. The gloves above the hand sink. The examination light above the medical bed. And on it…

“NO!” Susan whailed as she dropped to her knees. Mitzi Hunt was lying on the bed, barely moving, various tubes in her body to keep her alive. “MITZI!!!” Susan wept as the emotions flooded her body.

“Do you see now, why I said you would help me?” The Queen said as she walked toward Susan and placed a hand on her shoulder. “Surely you want vengeance for what Joe did to poor Mitzi?” Susan looked up at the Queen, her green eyes stained red from her tears.

“Save her. Please. I’ll kill Joe for you. I’ll kill Ivy. I kill anyone. Just… Save her. Please.” Susan begged the Queen.

“You care for little Mitzi don’t you?” The queen left Susan and walked to the other side of the medical bed. She brushed a strand of hair from Mitzi’s face. “She’s lucky to be alive you know?” The Queen touched where Mitzi’s heart would be and lifted her boney fingers, a faint ball of light on their tip. She produced a single candle and lit it with the ball of light. It’s flame barely burning. “She’s faint though.” The Queen snapped her fingers and they were back in her room, sans bed. Susan fell onto her hands and knees at the Queen’s feet. “You want me to save her?”

“Yes… please…” Susan said as her tears soaked the floorboards. “I can’t live without her. She’s my best friend.”

“She’s your only friend, besides that stupid cat.” The Queen said as she turned to walk away from Susan.

“I… I love her.” Susan stammered through tears. This stopped the Queen. She turned to face her champion as she lay on the floor.

“Get up Susan.” She commanded. Susan did not rise. “GET UP!” She rose slowly. The Queen placed Mitzi’s candle on her wall and got millimeters from Susan’s face. “What did you say?”

“I said… I love her.” Susan said. Her voice breaking with each word. The Queen stared into Susan’s eyes. Those beautiful eyes, now darkened by her tears.

“You do… Don’t you? More so than anyone in your past…” The Queen had won. “Very well Susan. I shall save your precious Mitzi Hunt. But you must bring Joe Davis to me first. Him and his bitch of a wife. Once they’re mine, you shall have her back. Now, go. You have work to do.” The Queen turned and left Susan.

“How will I get back?” She asked. The Queen laughed.

“You remember the way Susan. The crowbar is in hall.”

 

**AN Hello and Welcome to The Cat Lady: Revenge. My name is Oathkeeper250. The Cat Lady is a wonderful horror game, and this story is a sequel to the game and it’s sequel Downfall. I highly recommend playing them. Hopefully this goes well. Also, do you like Discord? Do you like The Cat Lady? Well join us on The Cat Lady Discord for fun, talking, hype, and cats. The Code is 9puwSxD **


	2. Chapter One: The Cat Lady Rises

The beeps of the machines sounded around Susan as she came too. She groaned as she tried to sit up. She rubbed her right arm.

“Stupid bitch,” She muttered under her breath. “She couldn’t devise a simpler way than chopping my arm off?” Susan looked around and pressed the call button. The nurse can in to see Susan standing.

“Mrs. Ash,” The young nurse began but Susan raised a finger to silence her.

“My name is Susan Ashworth. I am of sound mind and body. I want to be let go.”

* * *

The respirator moved slowly and steadily, breathing for Mitzi Hunt. Susan Ashworth sat in a chair provided and held her flatmate’s bandaged hand. Susan had seen the medical charts; the Queen was right.

“You’re lucky Mitzi. I don’t know how you lived.” Susan said as she rubbed her free hand through what was left of Mitzi’s hair. It had been growing back since she finished her chemo, but Mitzi still wore her wig. The fire had burned that but had luckily left her scalp free.

“ _You care for little Mitzi, don’t you?_ ” The Queen’s voice echoed in her head. Susan stroked the back of Mitzi’s hand.

“Yes,” She had answered. “Please Mitzi, fight for me. I can’t live without you.” The door to the room opened and Mitzi’s doctor came in. He was the same doctor that had treated Susan when she was last here.

“Ah, Mrs. Ashworth. I thought I’d find you here.” Doctor Charles said in his deep well-mannered voice. “Especially after you checked yourself out of my care. I figured the first thing you’d do is run to your daughter’s side.” Susan almost corrected him but decided against it.

“ _Just another small white lie_ ,” She thought to herself as Dr. Charles began his checks of Mitzi’s vitals. Susan watched him with her keen eyes.

“I was so sorry to hear about the incident Mrs. Ashworth,” Dr. Charles said as he wrote on his clipboard. “Once I heard the descriptions of the patients being brought, I requested that the two of you be brought directly to my care.” Susan was somewhat surprised by this.

“You remembered us?” She asked as he finished his checks.

“I try to remember all of my patients Mrs. Ashworth. Especially if they were on the Suicide Ward, sometimes a familiar face can bring people back from the brink.” He washed his hands. After he was finished, he dried them and turned to leave, but he stopped. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small card. “I will be taking care of your daughter Mrs. Ashworth. If you need to check on her at any time, call that number and either I will come check on her, or a nurse on staff will. This number is available 24/7.” Susan took the card and looked down at it, then she looked back up.

“I… I can’t thank you enough. Thank you.” She said holding back tears. Dr. Charles smiled.

“You’re quite welcome Mrs. Ashworth, and don’t worry. Your daughter will be fine here.” With that, he opened the door and left her alone again with Mitzi. Susan looked at the card. It was a simple laminated business card with a phone number on it, and instructions on how to get a status update on a patient.

“I thought I’d see you again Susan,” A familiar voice came as Susan jumped. Susan turned to see a nurse standing in front of her. She wore the familiar blue smock of a nurse, her long dark hair tied back into a loose bun. “Though I had hoped it would be under better circumstances.”

“Liz?! I don’t,” Susan began but the nurse cut her off.

“Understand how I’m here?” The ghost nurse chuckled. “Well, I’m not really here, am I now? Thanks’ to you, my body was given a proper burial, but I lingered her. Watching over all the patients on Dime ward. Well, those that can see me anyway. None of the nurses remember me of course.” Liz walked over and sat at the foot of Mitzi’s bed.

“I was hoping to meet your ‘daughter’ again.” Liz looked over Mitzi. “Don’t worry Susan, Dr. C isn’t the only one who’s going to be looking after Mitzi.” She touched Susan’s hand that still gripped Mitzi’s. “I will too. I told you I’d be back.” Susan shut her eyes and lowered her head. Tears beginning to flow.

“Thank you, Liz…” She said as she looked up, but Liz had already disappeared.

* * *

 The smell of burned flesh and wood permeated the air. The entire building had gone up in flames rather quickly. The police tape blew in the air, unattended and uncared for. No one cared about this place before the fire, and no one cared now. Even after all the news coverage of the dead bodies couldn’t keep interest in the building.

Susan Ashworth stepped by over the police tape and stepped into what was left of the building. The burnt pieces of wood cracking under her boots. She didn’t know what she was looking for, but this was the last place that she had seen Joe and Ivy, so no better place to start.

“Fucking hell,” Susan muttered as something tripped her. Susan looked down to see that a leash was buried in some rubble. “Poor dog. I hate dogs, but not even it deserved this.” Susan continued to explore the rubble.

“Here we are…” Susan said as she found a box. Mitzi had insisted on getting a safe box for the flat. “ _Why do we need a safe Mitzi?_ ” Susan had asked her friend. “ _It’s not like we have anything really valuable._ ”

“ _For protection Mrs. A_ ,” Mitzi had chimed in happily as she opened the safe she had bought. “ _This little baby is drop proof, water proof, and fire proof. Anything we stick in here can survive anything! Besides, this is the perfect way to teach you._ ”

“ _That’s all well and good, but what are we going to put,”_ Susan had stopped there. “ _What do you mean teach me?_ ” Mitzi had simply smiled and went to Susan’s room. She came back with the pistol that Mitzi had given to her.

“ _It’s not loaded Mrs. A,_ ” Mitzi had said before Susan could say something. Mitzi placed the pistol in the safe and shut the box, locking it in the process. “ _Go ahead Mrs. A, unlock it._ ”

“ _How am I supposed to unlock it? I don’t have a key. You locked those in there with the gun_.” Susan had said. But Mitzi chuckled.

“ _Like this,_ ” Mitzi bent down and pulled out her lockpick set. A gift from her father. A few seconds later and the safe was open.

“My little thief,” Susan said as a smile came to her face from the memory. Susan reached down to pick up the box. It was a little burned and melted around the edges, but the lock itself seemed fine. She was about to leave when she heard something behind her. A small rustling of fur. Susan turned to see a black cat sitting on the ruins of her piano.

“ _It must have fallen through the floor._ ” Susan thought to herself. The piano itself was damaged beyond repair probably, but that wouldn’t stop her from trying. The only good memory she had left of Eric. The black cat meowed again. Susan walked over to him.

“Teacup!” Susan exclaimed as she petted her old friend. Teacup had been with Susan when she was at her end. He had saved her in the pest controller’s house. He and siblings had saved her and Mitzi from the hanging man. “Sorry buddy, no food today. But you did eat my food, did you? But you would eat Mitzi’s pancakes.” A single tear ran down her face. Teacup licked the salty water from her cheek. Susan smiled and stroked the cat’s head.

“Come on then Teacup. Let’s go. The Cat Lady has a new parasite to hunt.” Susan said as she turned and left the ruin of her flat, the black cat following her as he always did.

 

 **AN: One down, many to go. Let me know what y’all think. See you all next time.**   

Also, do you like Discord? Do you like The Cat Lady? Well join us on The Cat Lady Discord for fun, talking, hype, and cats. The Code is  9puwSxD 


	3. The Box of Memories

The hotel wasn’t much, but for the time being it was home. A cheap little motel, but it had a bed, a shower, and Wi-Fi, so that was all Susan needed. She inserted the key and turned the lock to step into her room. Teacup followed right behind her and leapt up onto one of the two twin beds that came with the room. Susan smiled.

“Ok, that’s your bed then.” Susan said as she took her spot on the other one. Susan had brought Mitzi’s clothes from the hospital with her, or what was left of them. The fire had burned most of her leggings, so the hospital had tossed them. Mitzi had worn her leather jacket when she came with Susan to find Joe, so it wasn’t as badly damaged, but it was burned in several places on the back. Her signature green and black striped sweater had darkened under the rubble.

“First thing I’m gonna do,” Susan said to herself looking at the darkened top, “Is get you a replacement for this.” Susan put the top down and began to search the jacket. “ _Come on Mitzi..._ ” Susan thought to herself. “ _Don’t let me down…_ ” Susan’s fingers closed around a box in one of the inside pockets of the jacket.

“Found you,” Susan muttered as she pulled out the box. None the worse for wear miraculously from the heat, save for some warping here and there. Susan rubbed her thumb over the top of the box, the initials M.H. engraved on the top. She thumbed the latch to open the small case. Inside was an extensive set of lockpicks. Susan picked the pieces she knew she would need and began to work on the safe.

“ _Just take your time Mrs. A,_ ” Mitzi had said when she was first teaching Susan on a clear plastic lock. “ _Just picture the lock in your head._ ”

“ _I wouldn’t have to if you hadn’t tied your shirt around my eyes._ ” Susan had said as she tried the simply lock. Mitzi had tried with some leggings first, but Susan had shot that down.

“ _What’s the point of learning if you can’t picture the lock?_ ” Mitzi had said as she had tied the shirt and knotted it behind her head. “ _You don’t have X-Ray Vision do you Mrs. A?_ ” Susan had chuckled

“ _That’s my super power,_ ” Susan had said. “ _I’ve been using it to see your boobs the whole time._ ”

“ _Mrs. A?!”_ Mitzi had said with an overacted gasp. “ _If you wanted to see my boobs, all you had to do was ask._ ” They had both laughed at that.

“ _The feeling is mutual_.” Susan said as she continued to try the lock.

“Got it,” Susan said as she heard the lock to the safe click. She opened the safe and replaced the lockpicks in Mitzi’s case. “Thank you for teaching me Mitzi.” Susan muttered as she took salvage of the safe. Mitzi had taken to keeping her laptop in the safe, so she could practice her skills on the lock. Susan took the pistol out and pulled back the chamber.

“Empty, good job Mitzi.” Susan muttered as let the chamber slide back into place. She reached into the safe to find the magazine. Susan slid it into the pistol, but she kept the safety on. No need for it to go off. Susan continued to empty out the safe, though there was not much more in there. A few hundred pounds of savings, Mitzi’s charger, a few of Susan’s poems that she had wanted to save. Susan was about to put the safe up, when she felt one last thing. It was small, and soft. Susan pulled out the teddy bear that once belonged to Zoe. It looked good as new.

“Mitzi…” Susan began to cry, thinking back to the memory.

* * *

Mitzi had had a bad night. A bad week was a better description actually. The past five nights had been filled with restless nights and nightmares. Susan had been sitting with Mitzi every night, not wanting to leave her friend alone during the night. Mitzi tossed and turned in her sleep, a pained look on her face.

“ _What are you dreaming about my friend?_ ” Susan thought to herself as she reached down, going to stroke her cheek. Mitzi had always been a heavy sleeper, Susan sometimes had to shake her awake. Mitzi was sweating. “I’ll be right back Mitzi,” Susan whispered as she got up and left the room. Susan went to the kitchen to grab some water. She hadn’t realized how dry her throat had been. Susan drank the cool liquid and breathed a sigh. It had been a long day.

Suddenly, Susan heard a scream come from Mitzi’s room. She darted out of the kitchen, reaching Mitzi’s door in seconds. She flung the door open to see Mitzi sitting up in her bed, the comforter sitting at her legs. Her hands clasped her head as she whimpered, tears dripping down her face. Susan sat on the edge of the bed and held out her arms. Mitzi looked at her for a moment, then buried her face in Susan’s chest, weeping.

“Oh Mrs. A,” Mitzi said between sobs. “It was awful. That carpenter guy was here, and Adam too. But he was walking. Ordering the guy like a dog. He had killed you…”

“Shhhhh,” Susan said as she stroked Mitzi’s head. “It’s ok love. It was just a bad dream.” This had become Susan’s routine as of late. Mitzi’s nightmares had become haunted by visions of the mute who tried to kill her, as well as Adam, now mobile and taunting her. “I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.” And she had no intention of leaving Mitzi’s side until she had calmed down. That was, until the banging began. The all too familiar banging from her front door.

“Fucking A,” Susan muttered under her breath. “I don’t have time for this.” Susan planted a kiss of Mitzi’s forehead, the sweat from her skin tasting of salt. “I’ll be right back Mitzi. I’m going to go deal with this and get you some water, yeah?” Mitzi nodded and released Susan. She walked out the door but left it open.

The incessant banging continued as Susan marched toward the front door, her loving demeanor now replaced with a murderous one. Susan flung open the front door to see Bryan about to knock again.

“ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MIND?!” He demanded of Susan. She had always hated Bryan. Him and his stupid bald head. “IF YOU CAN’T KEEP THAT FUCKING BITCH QUITE, I’LL,” Bryan never did finish his though. The loud SMACK that came from Susan’s hand smacking his face made that quite plain.

“You listen here you pathetic little man,” Susan said with ice in her voice. She wasn’t taller than Bryan, but she felt like she towered over him. “I don’t care about you. I don’t care what you think. I don’t care what you say. But what I do care about is that girl in my flat. Now, the last time you came down here to yell in my face, some bad things happened. And you have no fucking idea how tempted I am to make them happen again.”

“NOW WAIT JUST A FUCKING MIN,” Bryan tried to interrupt but Susan SMACKED him with her other hand.

“Do not interrupt me Bryan. If you say one more bad thing about Mitzi, I promise you, I will make what happened with the cat widow, look like a first year’s attempt at getting even with some boy who pulled her hair. You remember reading about Dr. X in the papers? That crazy psychiatrist they found with his skull bashed in? I will make that look like a mild concussion.” Susan had backed Bryan into a corner now. “And I swear, if you touch Mitzi, I will sick Joe on you. Do I make myself as clear as I can possibly be?” Bryan did not respond, though Susan was satisfied with the distinct smell of urine emanating from Bryan. Without another word, Susan turned on her heel and slammed the door to her flat.

Susan had returned to Mitzi’s room with the glass of water. She drank it with shaking hands.

“Who was at the door Mrs. A?” Mitzi asked after she swallowed her first gulp. Mitzi’s sweating was down, and she seemed less worried.

“Oh, just some guy.” Susan said as she petted Mitzi’s very short hair. Mitzi grinned into her cup.

“That was a very loud some guy. What did you do to him?” Mitzi asked as she set her mug down on the chest of drawers besides her bed. She sat up with her back leaned against the wall, her legs crossed under the blanket, so Susan could sit. She did so. Mitzi was wearing her favorite shirts, one of the only things she had left of Jack. It always did make her feel comfortable.

“Oh, I summoned the Cat Widow to scare him away.” Susan said dramatically. Both women laughed at their inside joke.

“I wish the Cat Widow would scare my nightmares away.” Mitzi said with a sad tone. “I hate waking you up every night.” Susan reached up and placed her hand on one of Mitzi’s crossed legs.

“It’s no bother Mitzi,” Susan lied, not wanting her to know she had been up for the past two hours anyway.

“I know, you always say that.” Mitzi said as she brought her knees to her chest. “It doesn’t stop the feeling though. It doesn’t stop the pain.” Suddenly Susan had an idea.

“Wait here, and close your eyes Mitzi.” Susan said as she got up and left the room. “And no peeking!” Susan looked throughout her room until she found what she was looking for. She knew there was a reason she had kept it. Holding it behind her back, Susan walked back to Mitzi’s room.

“Are your eyes closed Mitzi?” Susan asked peeking her head through the door. Mitzi had covered her eyes with her hands.

“Yes Mrs. A,” Mitzi said matching her tone. “But just so you know, I’m using my own X-Ray Vision.” Susan rolled her eyes and walked toward Mitzi. She moved the gift from behind her back and placed it in Mitzi’s lap. Mitzi removed her hands to see a small teddy bear in her lap.

“Mrs. A… this is,” She began, but Susan silenced her.

“It was Zoe’s favorite bear.” Susan said, emotion coming back from the memory. “I know he’s a bit knotted and his fur is mangled, but Zoe loved him. He would always keep her quite in her sleep. She’d even talk to him. Maybe, he’ll do the same for you.” Mitzi looked at the bear, then back to Susan. With a trembling lip, Mitzi leapt out of bed and embraced Susan.

“Thank you so much Mrs. A,” Mitzi said as she squeezed Susan tight. “I love it.” Susan returned the hug, rubbing her thumb on the back of Mitzi’s neck.

“Now, it’s about two-thirty, how bout we both try to get some sleep, yeah?” Susan asked, trying to keep her yawn down. Bryan must have taken a lot out of her. Mitzi nodded and returned to her bed, getting under the covers.

“Goodnight Mrs. A,” Mitzi said as she turned over to her side, the bear clutched between her arms. Susan smiled as she cut out the light and shut the door.

“Goodnight Mitzi,” Susan replied shutting the door. Susan returned to her own room, taking off her robe she had been wearing and slid into bed herself. She looked at the door, almost as if through the door to where Mitzi lay. “Goodnight my love.” She said as she herself turned over to fall back asleep. The nightmares never bothered Mitzi again.

 

**AN: Ok, I know it was cheesy, but I wanted some happiness after the shit show over the last two chapters. Anyway, do review, look out for new chapters, check out my other work, and as always, enjoy the work. See y’all soon. Also, do you like Discord? Do you like The Cat Lady? Well join us on The Cat Lady Discord for fun, talking, hype, and cats. The Code is 9puwSxD **


	4. Chapter Three: A Doctor's Appointment

“Mitzi is doing ok guys _,_ ” Susan typed onto Mitzi’s laptop into the forum she and Mitzi had opened after they had dealt with Adam.

“ _If we can help just one-person Mrs. A,_ ” Mitzi had said when she had approached Susan with the idea of starting the forum, “ _then that’s all that matters._ ” Susan had been doubtful, but she humored Mitzi. After all, the internet had brought the two of them together.

“Well, as good as can be expected. She’s in a coma. The doctors aren’t sure how bad it is until she wakes.” Of course, with that realization, that chat blew up as it always did.

“ _WHAT HAPPENED?!_ ” Cielinabox asked. A friend of Mitzi’s from years ago, she had been one of the first true followers of the blog.

“Our flat caught fire. We got caught trying to escape. Mitzi… took the brunt of it.” Susan’s hands shook as she typed that. It had been a week since the incident, and she was no closer to finding Joe than she was then. She was getting frustrated.

“ _Is there anything we can do to help?_ ” Cielinabox asked.

 _“_ No Sam,” Susan typed. “I don’t want to take any of your money.” Susan hated handouts. Always made her feel like she couldn’t handle the real world.

“ _It’s not handouts through._ ” She replied. “ _You and Mitzi have helped us so much. Just being here. Offering us this place, helping us through our own demons. The two of you are the reason some of us are still here._ ” The rest of the chat began to light up, backing up Sam’s claims. Thanks, and well wishes poured from the computer screen.

“I… I wouldn’t even know where to start.”

“ _We’ll help you with that._ ” Sam typed as the rest of the group continued to say how much they want to help.

“OK… ok. But only until we get back on our feet.” Susan yielded. As much as she hated to take the money, hospital bills are expensive. After an hour of talking to Sam privately, Susan had set up a gofundme. However, she shut the laptop before checking to see how much money the chat members would donate, she had a doctor’s appointment she couldn’t miss. She should have left half an hour ago, but she had gotten wrapped up in the update and the gofundme. Hopefully, she could still catch the train.

* * *

 

Susan walked down the sidewalk, the rain coming down ever so slightly. She pulled the hood of her jacket tighter over her head as she counted the numbers on the building. She stopped under an awning and dug through her jacket. She pulled out the packet of smokes that she had bought on a whim the day after she moved into the hotel. She had been trying to quit since Mitzi got better, but given the stress of the past week, she had delved back into old habits.

“Sorry Mitzi.” She said as she pulled a cigarette from the carton and lit it. Susan never smoked for the nicotine, especially now. It was more the experience of it. She tapped off the ashes and continued to walk down the sidewalk. She was about halfway done with the smoke when she arrived at the office. Yellow tape covering the shattered window in the door. The psychiatric offices of Dr. Frank Zellman had been broken into two days ago, and the good doctor himself was missing. Susan pulled on the medical gloves she had… borrowed from Mitzi’s hospital room when she had visited last, the hospital had more than plenty of them and opened the door.

The sound of glass cracked under Susan’s boots. She turned on the torch and began to sweep the office. She didn’t know what she was looking for. But he was Joe’s psychiatrist, so at the very least, maybe there’s a medical file in here. Susan went behind the receptionist desk and began to look through the desk. She began to look through the desk but couldn’t find anything. She tried to boot up the computer, but the power was off. She went to explore the rest of the office when she stopped. The light from her torch had reflected off something on the floor. Susan knelt and touched her hand into the pool on the floor. Her gloved hand came back red and sticky.

“Blood… fresh too…” Susan followed the trail with her light. The trail dribbled down the hall, getting heavier and heavier as they continued. Susan drew the pistol from her jacket and placed it over the hand with her torch. Proceeding carefully, she followed the blood, until it ended at a door. Reaching for the knob, Susan flicked off the safety on the pistol and racked the slide to load a bullet in the chamber.

“ _Joe… if you’re in there…”_ Susan began to think to steel herself. She threw open the door and aimed her pistol around the room. The office was almost stereotypical in it’s design, a large couch in one corner of the room, a desk with a computer sat in the opposite corner. Filing cabinets labeled with alphabetical code lined the wall perpendicular with the computer desk, bookshelves lines with various other works lined the other side. Propped up against the couch, was an older man, with a bald head. Blood poured from back.

“Dr. Zellman I assume?” Susan asked as she looked around, searching for Joe. The man coughed up blood.

“Yes unfortnatly. What do you want? Why can’t you let me die in peace? Who are you?”

“I’m the Cat lady.” Susan said as she placed the safety back on and replaced the pistol in her jacket. She knelt down and stared at Zellman. “Where’s Joe doctor?”

“Joe? Joe Davis? You just missed him. He did this to me.” He coughed up more blood. “I lost everything after Xavier’s little art museum was discovered. That bitch said Xavier was killed by…” The doctor looked up at Susan, as if seeing her for the first time. “By the Cat Lady…”

“I’m sorry your practice faltered doctor. But your brother,”

“Don’t tell me who my brother was. I knew. We all knew. But no one did anything because we were all afraid he’d turn his blade on us.” More blood left his mouth. “If anything, I should thank you. You set us free.”

“Doctor, where is,” Before Susan could ask again, a phone began to ring. The sound of a soft piano tune came from inside the Doctor’s jacket, one that was oddly familiar to Susan.

“Would you mind? I can’t feel my hands.” Zellman said as he leaned his head against the couch. Susan reached into the Doctor’s jacket and felt her hand wrap around a phone. She pulled out the phone and read the caller id. She opened the phone and placed it to her ear.

“ _Hello Susan._ ” Joe Davis’s voice came from the receiver. “ _You’ve been looking for me?_ ” Susan didn’t answer. “ _Oh, you’re probably wonder how I know that’s you? I knew you’ve been following me. Especially after the… unfortanat situation at Hellen Road._ ”

“YOU FUCKING KILLED ME AND MITZI!” Susan yelled into the phone. “YOU AND YOUR BITCH OF A WIFE!”

“ _That’s no way to speak to me Susan! You really need to get that temper checked out. It makes you weak._ ”

“Let me make this, as clear as I can to you. I will hunt you down. I will kill you. And then,”

“ _What? She’ll give you Mitzi back?_ ” This shocked Susan. “ _Oh yes. I know of the Queen. I know all about the deal between the two of you._ ” The computer turned on behind Susan. “ _Why don’t you go look?_ ” A click and the call ended. Susan turned back to the doctor and walked over to the computer monitor. Joe Davis awaited her. He had recently shaved, and his hair was almost as if it was just washed.

“ _Miss me?_ ” Joe said with a smile.

“Miss you? I’m going to,” Susan began but she was cut off.

“ _Yes, yes, Susan I know. I’m gonna kill you. Make you suffer. Get my girlfriend back. Blah Blah Blah. Haven’t you wondered though, why you are even here? Queenie didn't save you. She enslaved you. You are always going to be her bitch._ ” Susan was about to respond with some choice vocabulary, but Joe calmly raised his hand. “ _One moment Susan, Ivy wants to talk to you._ ” Joe got up and pulled his chair back. Ivy Davis sat in the chair and Joe pushed her forward. Ivy wore a black leather jacket, and her light hair was replaced with black curls.

“ _Hi Mrs. A!_ ” Ivy said as she waved. “ _Sorry about the ax back there. But you were hurting my man._ ”

“How. Dare. You.” Susan barely managed to whisper as she fought to keep her anger inside. How dare she wear those clothes? Ivy laughed.

“ _Aww… Did I touch a nerve? I dunno, I think the black looks good on me. I see why she wears it so much. What do you think Joe?_ ” Joe came back into frame and kissed his wife.

“ _I think it looks great Ives… but seeing as I am a wanted criminal… maybe I should have a different name. What about…”_

 _“Jack!_ ” Ivy said with a glint of tease in her voice. The couple kissed again.

 _“I like it._ ” They turned to face Susan. “ _I hope you’re still here Susan. But I’m afraid we have to go now. Say goodbye to Dr. Frank for us._ ” The screen turned off and Susan heard a click. A whirl of a motor began, and a power saw dropped from the ceiling, falling onto the skull of Dr. Frank Zellman. His scream was short, but blood curdling. Susan looked down at the desk to see a manila folder sitting on the desk. It was marked in cursive writing, Joe Davis. Susan grabbed the file, and walked out of the office.

 

**AN A End to another chapter. More questions. How does Joe know about the Queen? Why does Ivy look like Mitzi? What’s in the file? We’ll find out soon. Anyway, a special thanks to Cielinabox aka Sammie, a friend of mine who I found through The Cat Lady who was kind enough to let me use her in this. Stay tuned for future updates. :)**

****Do you like Discord? Do you like The Cat Lady? Well join us on The Cat Lady Discord for fun, talking, hype, and cats. The Code is 9puwSxD ** **


	5. Chapter Four: A Long Shower

Susan shut the door to her hotel room and screamed. She had been silent on the trip back here, her emotions stirring and boiling turning Susan into a living pressure cooker until she couldn’t take it anymore. She ripped her jacket off and flung it onto the bed. She dropped to her knees as she continued to release the pressure she had built up inside of her body. Her face was covered in blood from her hands where she had pierced her hands with her finger nails. She wasn’t sure when she stopped screaming. Only that her voice was shot and her breathing unsteady. She stared at the floor, unsure what to do. That was when she felt a familiar warm sensation against her hand.

Susan looked down to see Teacup licking lightly at the blood on her hand. He purred as he rubbed his body against her arm, his tail wrapping ever so slightly across her forearm, almost like a hug.

“Teacup…” Susan said as she slowly helped herself up. She pat Teacup’s head. She got up and picked up the black cat she and Mitzi loved so much. She placed the cat on the bed that he had claimed and began to strip. If the past year has taught her anything, it was that a good long shower helps with anything. Tossing her wet clothes into the pile of clothes that sat between her bed and the wall. She would wash them… eventually.

Susan stepped into the tiny bathroom and began to run the tiny shower. Once it was hot to her liking, she stepped in and let the waters rush over her body. She bent her neck downward and let the waters rush down into her hair and down her back. She finially felt as if she could breathe. She stared at her feet to see the water tinted a slight red where the dried blood was washing off her hands. She closed her eyes and washed her hands in the stream to clean them the rest of the way. When she opened them again, she jumped. The water had turned blood red. She backed into the back of the shower and blinked, only to have the water turn back to its normal color.

“Calm down old girl.” Susan muttered to herself. She had had hallucinations before, at least she thought they were hallucinations. “Tricks of the mind. That’s all it is.” Susan finished washing and turned off the water. Wrapping a towel around herself, she stepped out of the shower. Susan took a spare towel and rubbed the steam from the mirror and stared at herself. For years, ever since the death of Erik, she had hated how she looked. The bags under her eyes, the way her boobs sagged, how old she looked. All she ever really liked were her eyes. It wasn’t until Mitzi came into her life, that she began to start loving herself again. Mitzi’s presence had somehow begun to deage Susan. Her bags had disappeared. Her boobs perked up. Even her eyes had begun to be filled with light and life. Susan smiled as she began to wrap her hair in the towel. She needed a coffee, and another smoke before she began to do anything else. When she looked back in the mirror, the Queen stared back at her. Susan jumped back and banged her head against the wall.

“Come now Susan,” The Queen whispered in her wispy voice. “Must you always be so shocked to see me?” Susan got off the wall and grabbed the second towel and wrapped it around her torso.

“I don’t have time for you right now.” Susan said as she turned and opened the bathroom door.

She stepped into the Queen’s house as the door behind her closed. Still in her towels, Susan stared at the Queen of Maggots as she sat at her dinner table.

“Ah, Susan. How nice of you to join me.” She gestured to the empty chair across from her, but Susan did not take it.

“Why did you bring me here?” Susan asked as she continued to glare at the queen. The Queen sighed as she got p and began to walk toward Susan.

“I brought you here Susan, because I thought you would like to have a moment of comfort.” She grabbed Susan’s towel with her bony hand and yanked it away. Susan tried to cover her breasts, but instead of flesh, she felt fabric. She looked down to see that she was clothed in her usual wardrobe. “Don’t say I never do anything for you Susan.” The Queen said as she pointed to the door behind Susan. When Susan turned back the Queen was gone. Susan looked around the room and turned to the door. She grabbed the handle and opened the door.

* * *

 

Susan stepped into her flat. It all looked exactly the same as it had before the fire had destroyed the building.

“What the fuck is this?” Susan asked the air as her fists clenched. Was this the Queen’s idea of a practical joke? Susan should have turned and walked out of the flat, but… she couldn’t. Her curiosity got the better of her. She began to explore her flat.

Everything was the same. The coffee whitener was still in the cupboard. The milk in the fridge was still bad. Susan walked into the living room and wiped her fingers across the piano’s cover. The Mahogany wood felt nice to her fingers. She stepped out onto the balcony. The storm outside pounded the cover above her head. To her left, the scarecrow she had made with an old shirt and a volleyball waved in the storm’s winds. Susan returned to the flat and walked down towards her room. The cat clock on the bedside table ticked and tocked the seconds away. Susan left her room and stopped outside Mitzi’s room. She almost didn’t want to go in. Too many memories in that room, but something told her she had to go in. She grabbed the knob of the door and turned it.

The room was exactly as Susan remembered it. The walls were plastered with posters of Jack’s work as well as the bands Mitzi loved. The safe with the gun sat at the head of Mitzi’s bed between it and the nightstand that held a lamp and power strip. The curtains in the window were drawn back as the water pelleted the window. And on the bed… Mitzi hunt lay on her stomach, her legs up and crossed at the ankles as she typed on her computer. She hummed a little song as she typed.

“M… Mitzi?!” Susan barely whispered as her voice escaped her. Mitzi stopped typing and turned her head to look at Susan. She smiled that sweet smile that Susan had fallen in love with.

“Mrs. A! What brings you to my little slice of heaven?” She asked as she closed her laptop and rolled over to sit up. Susan ran to Mitzi and squeezed her friend tight. “Mrs. A, Can’t breathe.” Susan let her go and kissed her forehead.

“Shut up. I’ve missed you.” Susan said as she squeezed her again. She felt so real. How was this possible? Susan didn’t care.

“Missed me? Where have I been?” Susan let go of her and kissed her again. This time on her lips. After half a minute, they broke the kiss. “If you want me to stop asking questions Mrs. A, you’re going to have to do that again.” Mitzi flashed that sexy grin of hers again.

“That can be arraigned Mrs. Hunt.” Susan leant in for another kiss, and Mitzi returned it.

 

**Do you like Discord? Do you like The Cat Lady? Well join us on The Cat Lady Discord for fun, talking, hype, and cats. The Code is 9puwSxD **


	6. Chapter Five: A New Player Enters the Game

Susan smiled as she turned on her side. She had just had the best night of her life with Mitzi, she couldn’t believe it was real.

“Good Morning Mitzi,” she said as she reached out for her lover, feeling nothing but the edge of the bed. She opened her eyes to find herself in the hotel room. Alone again save for teacup who slept on the bed besides her.

“Damn,” She said sitting up and rubbing her eyes. “Knew it was too good to be true.” She thought back to last night. Two wonderful hours with Mitzi. Something she had been missing since the incident. She should have known that it wasn’t real. “Wasn’t it?” She asked herself. It had certainly **felt** real. Maybe it was real. After all the things Susan had experienced during the past year, what even was real?

“Thank you,” Susan whispered under her breath. She still hated the Queen of course for all the hell she constantly put Susan through; but now, she didn’t hate her as much.

After a shower and cup of coffee, Susan sat at the small table she had moved between the two beds and began to red through Joe’s profile. Was it too good to be true that this was available to her when Doctor Z was clearly left there by Joe and Ivy to be killed in front of Susan? Of course it was.

“If you two want to play this little game of cat and mouse, I’ll play along.” Susan muttered as she read the Doctor’s notes on Joe. No wonder Joe was always so eccentric, the bastard had a medical dictionary of symptoms and illnesses. Auditory and Visual hallucinations brought upon by Schizophrenia, paranoia, suspicions of Dissociative identity disorder recently though no follow up to prove suspicions, prone to violent bursts of anger, the list went on and on.

“How the hell did Joe get so messed up?” Susan thought as she flipped through the folder. That’s when she found her first clue. A newspaper clipping from over 20 years ago. _Local Boy killed by Munitions meant for Terrorist Cell_. The picture showed police tape and a young boy crying in the corner, a girl trying to comfort him. It was a young Joe Davis. Susan remembered now. She had been young when the incident happened. She was getting into reading the paper when a knock came on the door. Susan was not expecting anyone. She had double latched the door, so no one could get in, but the knock came again. Susan got up slowly and reached into the bedside table and pulled out the pistol. She flicked off the safety as she crept toward the door. She peered out the peephole to see a young man, in his mid-thirties dressed in a smock of blue.

“Cleaning service,” Susan muttered as she flicked the safety back on and stuck the pistol in her back pocket. She unlatched the locks and opened the door.

“I’m sorry, I forgot to apply the do not disturb sign on the door last night.” She said as studied the man before her. He was different than most cleaning staff she had met before. He had an aura about himself that gave off a feeling of power and confidence. His hair was well mannered, even though it was stuck under a hairnet and he smiled when she greeted him, like he was glad to be at work.

“Oh, my bad ma’am,” He said with a light bow. His voice was deeper than Susan had expected. “I would have skipped your room, but I was told we had a beautiful woman staying here, I just had to see if the rumors were true.” Susan chuckled.

“Sorry Casanova, but I’m afraid she’s not in at the moment.” She was about to close the door when she heard a hiss come from behind her. She turned to see Teacup wide awake and staring at the man, hissing as she primed himself as if he were going to pounce. “I’m sorry, he’s not normally like this.”

“Oh, it’s fine. Cat’s don’t really like me. It’s the cologne I use.” He said as he readjusted his cleaning cart. “I suppose I’ll see you later ma’am.” He turned to leave but stopped. “If you need anything during your stay, just call the front office and ask for Rex. That’s me. I’ll get it to you.” With that, Rex pushed his cart down the way to the next room to clean, whistling as he went.  Susan shut the door and re-bolted it. Teacup was still staring at the door.

“I don’t know what’s gotten into you old boy.” She said as she reached down to scratch the cat. He let her as he relaxed a bit in her presence. “Come on, let’s get you fed while I check the news yeah?” Susan went and grabbed Teacup’s food and water bowl and placed it on the table between the beds. She replaced the pistol and pulled out the remote for the tv in the room. It was better than the one that she had had in her flat, though the lack of guide always bothered her. Luckily, she had managed to memorize the important channels that she needed to view. She flicked over to the various news stations and left them playing as she continued to pour over Joe’s file. She followed Joe’s visits to Doctor Z as he tried to work through his brother’s death. He had always blamed himself. Doctor Z had once implemented hypnosis to try and discover the root cause of Joe’s other identities and nearly gotten killed by the “Joe” he unleashed. However, rather than send Joe to someone more capable of helping him, he kept treating Joe.

“ _Joe Davis is a unique specimen that I may never find again!_ ” He had written in a footnote after one of Joe’s sessions. “ _So much pent of trauma in him, yet he continues to go on. I must discover what makes him so special._ ”

“The fuck was wrong with this guy?” Susan asked as she read through these notes. “Whole family is batshit crazy.” She looked up to see police removing what remained of Dr. Z from his office as the reports suggested suicide. A note was found on his body claiming that he couldn’t live with the guilt of what he and his brother had done for so long.

* * *

 

The next day, Susan had left Teacup with some food and water, this time placing the do not disturb notification in the door and left to visit Mitzi in the Hospital. She had taken to visiting and sitting with her every other day, but she had missed her visit the other day with the storm and the Dr. Z incident. When she entered Mitzi’s room, she met Dr. Charles as he was removing replacing an IV bag.

“Ah, Mrs. Ashworth. I’ll be done in a second.” He took some notes as Susan sat down. “I hope you’ve been well?”

“As can be expected,” She said as she stared at Mitzi’s comatose form. “Have there been any updates?”

“She is doing as can be expected Mrs. Ashworth.” Dr. Charles said as he went to wash his hands before leaving.  “We can only hope that she wakes soon. Until then, we won’t know the extent of her brain injuries, if there are any.” He dried his hands and left the room. Susan pulled a chair over to the side of Mitzi’s bed and grabbed her free hand. She rubbed her thumb over the top of her hand, thinking back to that wonderful night last night. It had been a night that she still wasn’t sure if it was more than a dream, or not, though by now she didn’t care. The night was real to her, and that’s all that mattered to her.

“That’s a good mindset to have Susan.” A familiar voice came from behind her. Susan turned to see the form of Liz leaning by the foot of Mitzi’s medical bed. Susan smiled.

“Nice to see you too Liz. How have you been?” Liz walked around and sat by Mitzi’s legs.

“Oh, you know, I’ve been fine. A spirit wandering Dime Ward to try and comfort the patients on suicide watch. There’s only so much I can do to try and help them.”

“I’m sorry Liz. I wish I could have helped you more.”

“Don’t be Susan. You stopped Dr. X, you listened to me when I told you my story, you helped place my soul at ease. At least now, I can move around the hospital freely and I’m not jumping off the roof every night trying to end the cycle.” Liz stood up and walked to Susan’s side and gave her a small hug.

“Don’t worry Susan. Between me, you, and the other guy, Mitzi hasn’t had a single hour without someone with her.” Susan broke the hug and grabbed the spirit.

“What other guy?” Susan asked. She had no idea who this other guy could be. “What did he look like?”

“Mid-thirties, average built. He told the nurse he was Mitzi’s brother. Susan, what’s wrong?” Liz had seen the color drain from Susan’s face.

“Liz, Mitzi doesn’t have a brother.”

 

**D **o you like Discord? Do you like The Cat Lady? Well join us on The Cat Lady Discord for fun, talking, hype, and cats. The Code is 9puwSxD ** **


	7. Chapter Six: A Tale of One Brother

Susan felt her breath catch after Liz dropped her announcement. “Liz, what do you mean Mitzi’s brother?” She asked the ghostly spirit. “Liz doesn’t have a brother.” The nurse’s spirit stammered.

“I don’t know Susan. He told the nurse at the front desk that he was her brother. She never bothered to check further.” She said as she walked towards Susan. “I didn’t have a reason to distrust him. He acted brotherly at least.” Susan could barely hear her though. She was trying to run through all the men that she knew to think of anyone who could have come here. That list was rather small. Douchebag Bryan, assuming he lived through the fire, Joe of course, but even he wouldn’t be stupid enough to come into a hospital with police given the manhunt on for him, the homeless guy from the train station maybe? No. No that’s crazy talk. Robbie would never do anything like that.

“Susan? Susan are you listening to me?” Liz’s voice finially cracked through Susan’s fog as she snapped back to reality.

“What did you say Liz?” She asked as she got up and looked at the spirit.

“I said, if you want to wait for a bit, he should come soon. He always comes every other day at 3:00.” Susan looked at the clock. She had fourty-five minutes. Susan’s mind quickly began to formulate a plan.

“That can work.” She muttered under her breath. “Liz, will you come find me when he arrives?” Liz nodded her head as she vanished from the room. Susan walked over to Mitzi’s body and kissed her forehead. “I’ll be right back Mitzi.” She said as she left Mitzi’s room.

* * *

 

Susan began to walk around the hospital looking for the stuff she would need. For better or worse, the security in the hospital had not been upgraded since her time here. She started off by going into the locker room for the nurses to place their stuff and change. She managed to find a locker for a nurse who hopefully wasn’t on duty today. Pulling out Mitzi’s tool kit, Susan began to pick the padlock that was used to seal the locker. A minute later, Susan heard a click as the tumblers clicked and the lock popped open. Inside the locker, Susan found a spare set of scrubs that looked like they would fit Susan, as well as a set of keys.

“These nurses really don’t care about safety, do they?” Susan thought as she began to change. She hadn’t worn scrubs in years, but she still remembered the feel of them. Even over her normal clothes, they had a familiar feel to them. She took the keys and walked out of the locker room. Taking a breath to still herself, she walked up to the reception desk.

At the desk was the same nurse from dime ward all those years ago. Her signature red sunglasses and her general disinterest showed how much she “loved” her job. Hoping she wouldn’t recognize Susan in scrubs, she walked up to the counter.

“Hey,” Susan said to the nurse. “I’m new here and I seem to have forgotten my equipment.” The nurse sighed as she looked up from her day dreaming.

“Of course, the new blood forgets their tools on the first day.” She said in that condescending voice of hers that she did so well. “Of course, I’ll just need to see your identification that you actually work here. We can’t have our supplies given out to people who don’t work here.” Susan took the badge from her breast and handed it to her. Hopefully she wouldn’t look too hard at the fact that the person on the badge was a redhead. She didn’t thankfully. She just handed it back to Susan. “Go straight down the hall and swipe your ID at the first reader on your left. From there go into the second door on your right and take what you need. Just remember to put them in for sanitization afterwards.” She then went back to whatever she was doing before Susan had interrupted her precious time. Susan thanked her and followed her directions.

As Susan entered the room, she looked around for cameras almost on an instinct. She didn’t want much camera footage of her walking around and just stealing stuff. Luckily, or unluckily there were none. Dr. X probably had them removed so that he would have more locations for kidnapping his victims. Susan searched the room before finding a stethoscope and a scalpel. “Perfect, this will work nicely.” Susan muttered as she pocketed the blade. She placed the stethoscope around her neck and left the room.

Susan was walking back to Mitzi’s room when Liz’s spirit appeared besides her.

“Susan, I almost didn’t recognize you.” She said as the two of them walked. “The garbs suit you. Anyway, he just walked into the front entrance. You have five minutes at most to get back.” Susan nodded as she quickened her pace to get to Mitzi’s room. When she got there, she slid into the room and hid behind the door, waiting for the “brother” to come in. Liz rematerialized once more besides Mitzi and pointed at the door. A moment later, the door opened.

* * *

 

A man entered the room and shut the door behind him. In his hands were some dark flowers that he went to place besides Mitzi’s head.

“Hello luv,” He said as he placed the flowers in the pot. “Right on time as always.” Susan slipped the scalpel out of her pocket and snuck up behind the man, pressing the blade on the edge of his neck.

“Don’t scream. Don’t shout.” Susan commanded to the man. “I spent years as a nurse. I know exactly how to cut your jugular so that you bleed out before you can let little more than a moan.” The man held his hands out away from his torso.

“I don’t want no trouble. I just came to visit my sister.” He said his voice shaking.

“Lies.” Susan said pressing the blade ever so slightly harder into his neck, cause a little red stream to leak out of his neck. “Mitzi doesn’t have a brother. She grew up in an orphanage. So, I’m going to give you one chance. Tell me who you are, or you won’t be leaving this room.” The man seemed to ponder what Susan said for a moment before he spoke again.

“Wait… are you Mrs. Ashworth?” He asked. When Susan didn’t respond he continued. “Mrs. Ashworth? You live with Mitzi? If… if you take the knife away from my neck, I can explain everything.” Susan didn’t let go. “Please,” He begged. “I don’t want to die. Let me explain who I am.” Susan thought for a moment. He was bigger than her probably by a good 30 pounds, and he had at least three inches on her in height. She probably couldn’t take him in a fair fight, but she did have a scalpel, and immortality. She backed away from the man.

“Turn around.” She commanded as she backed up. The man turned around and Susan saw his face. He didn’t look like Mitzi at all. None of his facial features matched hers, nor did his eyes share her beautiful gray tones. But he did have a certain attractiveness to him that Susan may have be interested in, if she wasn’t already taken. “Let’s start with your name.”

“My name is Jason. Jason Thompson.” He said as he studied Susan. “And I… I would have been Mitzi’s brother.”

“What do you mean would have?”

“Surely she told you? Why she came to you? I’m Jack’s brother.” This hit Susan like a brick. She didn’t know much about Jack, Mitzi didn’t like to talk about him beyond her nightmares.

“You’ll understand if I don’t trust you.” Susan said still holding the scalpel in her hand. “Mitzi never mentioned Jack had a brother.” Jason nodded.

“Mitzi and I weren’t exactly close. We hung for a bit, but once I introduced Mitzi to Jack, I hardly got time with the two of them. Attached at the hip they were, quite literary most nights.” Jason ruffled his hand through his hair.

“I was chosen for adoption. I got lucky at 14. I kept in touch with Jack and Mitzi over social media. They aged out of the system you know. Jack first. He had a two-month head start on Mitzi, not that you would have known. Every post on their accounts had him at the orphanage with Mitzi every single waking moment he had free. Mitzi followed him out of the program and they moved in together. Jack managed to get a small apartment that was big enough for the two of them.” He made a sign of the cross. “That’s when the cancer came.”

“Glioblastoma,” Susan answered. “Fucking bitch of a cancer.”

“Yeah,” Jason sighed. “I got the message from Mitzi first. She wanted me there for… for the announcement. I told her I would be there. I had never seen Jack that way. Not even when we would get into fights he always kept his head. But when Mitzi told him about the cancer he just… exploded. It was a nightmare to witness. He nearly busted my skull open with his guitar. Our parents had gotten him that guitar…

“After that fight I watched as Mitzi killed herself with chemo through a computer screen. Watched as her wonderful hair disappeared, she was hurting so much and Jack he… he couldn’t see it. He was blinded by his drive to get Mitzi healed. Even if it killed them both.

“I remember it like it was yesterday. 12:37 AM I get a call from Jack. He sounded… so strange. Distant like, like he was holding the phone a meter from his face. He was so calm. ‘I figured it out bro. Me and Mitzi, we’re gonna kill ourselves. We’re a modern-day Romeo and Juliet.’ I tried to talk him out of it, but his mind was made up. The next thing I remember was getting a call from Mitzi. She was barely coherent. I went and picked her up from the police station. I uh… I actually pointed her to Adam.” This got Susan’s attention.

“You did what?” She asked him. He had her attention now. Jonas chuckled.

“Yeah. Mitzi wasn’t the only tech wiz. Who do you think taught her everything she knows? I got into Jack’s laptop and managed to find out where he had been spending most of his time online. I found Adam’s forum. And I gave it to Mitzi. Three months later she came by my house to say goodbye. She was gonna go talk to Adam. I knew what she meant, but I didn’t stop her. And well, you know the rest.” Jonas collapsed into a chair. Susan glanced at the clock on the wall, still broken of course. So, she checked her phone. Jonas had been talking for over an hour.

“Do you… do you know who did this to her?” Jonas asked as he squeezed Mitzi’s hand. “We weren’t blood, but we were as good as. And I can tell she cares about you Susan. Please, if you know why she’s here, tell me.” Susan thought for a moment. His story seemed to make sense. But still, Mitzi would have told her about this mysterious brother Jack had. She needed to do some digging.

“No. No I don’t. As far as I know it was just some electrical fire in the basement. Sorry.” Jason shook his head.

“No, no. It’s ok. I just… I worry about her.” He rubbed his thumb against the back of her hand. “I’m all she’s got left of her old life.” Susan stared as Jason looked at Mitzi.

“ _I don’t know who you are… but I don’t trust you_ ” Susan thought to herself as she turned to go. “Come on, visiting hours are over for now.”

 


End file.
